William weavbe



UNITED STATES PATENr EEicE.

WILLIAM WEAVER, OF PIICENIXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO E. PRICE, 0F SAME PLACE.

PRING, CUTTING, AND CORING MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,7541, dated April 3, 1866. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM WEAVER, of Phoenixville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvementsin Machines for Paring, Gering, and Dividing Peaches, 85e.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists of certain mechanism, fully described hereinafter, for removing the skins from peaches and other fruit, for dividing the latter when pared, and for separating the refuse from the available portion of the fruit.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Fignres l and 2 are sectional elevations of my improved machine for paring, coring, and dividing peaches, Snc.; Fig. 3, a plan view of Fig. l, and Figs. 4 and 5 detached views of parts of the machine drawn to an enlarged scale.

A is an oblong box, to the top B of which is hinged a lid, B', and at one end of the box is an open receptacle or trough, A'.

In the upper end of a standard, C, secured to the top of the box, turns a spindle, D, one end of which is cut longitudinally so as to form four prongs, c, the ends of which are bent outward, and to the opposite end of the spindle is secured a suitable handle, E. y

In a lever, F, the lower end of which is connected, by a universal joint, to the top of the box, is an inclined opening, c, and to the front of the said lever is secured an adjustable knife, d, the upper edge of which is bent outward and sharpened, as best observed on reference to Fig. 5. To the front of the lever F, above the knife d, is secured a plate, e, the lower edge of which is serrated and bent slightly toward the sharp edge of the plate d, with which,

however, the plate e is not in contact, the space between the knife d and plate e being opposite to the opening c of the lever. From the rear of the lever, abovethe opening c, projects a sharp-edged plate, f, for a purpose described hereinafter.

In the top of the box are two openings, I and I', the former being below the forked end of the shaft D, and into the opening I' project the upper ends of two tubes, J J', each of thus embraced by the said prongs. v rlhe spindle is then turned, by means of the handle E, toward the lever F, which is brought against the side of the peach, so that the skin of the latter will be penetrated by the edge of the knife-plate cl. As the spindle continues to revolve the skin ot' the peach will be removed by the knife and will pass in the form of a thin narrow strip or band between the edge of the knife and the serrated edge of the plate e, through the opening c, and into the receptacle A', the lever being gradually moved from one end of the peach to the other as the skin is detached. When all the skin has been removed the motion of the spindle is arrested and the lever F is turned so as to bring the knife j' against the peach. The lever is then moved so as to pass the knife across the peach at four points, thereby dividing the same into four or more parts, which are readily detached from the stone by turning the spindle while the knife is in one of the incisions. The sections thus detached fall through the opening I, while the stone is held by the prongs b until removed.

When an apple has to be pared it is placed on the shaft and the skin is removed in the manner described. Instead of cutting the apple, however, with the knife f, it is removed from the shaft, brought over the opening I', and pressed downward, the plate t separating it into four parts, which fall into the box A, while the core passes into the tube J, from which it is forced into the tube K, and from the latter into the receptacle A' By the arrangement above described the skins and cores are separated from the available portions of the fruit and are deposited by themselves in the receptacle A', the remainder ofthe fruit falling into the box A. In consequence of the curve imparted to the knife its edge can be more readily introduced into depressions in the ends or sides of the fruit than the flat knives heretofore used, every particle of the skin being` thus removed, while the serrated plate A determines the thickness ofthe paring without scraping from the same the down or plush, which in ordinary machines soon obstructs the openin g between the plates. The prongs b, owing` to their elasticity, will readily accommodate themselves to stones ot 'different sizes.

WILLIAM WEAVER.

Witnesses:

H. HoWsoN, JOHN WHITE. 

